Please Note: This ride is for older geared classic 2-stroke motor scooters, and is our annual event just for the oldies. It's not for modern Auto Vespas. The event is for club members only.
What
Ladies and gentlemen, de-coke your engines, adjust your cables - the club’s annual Melbourne Classic Scooter “Blue Smoke” Ride is on once again. Last year our Blue Smoke Ride to Warburton was attacked by inclement weather. Nevertheless 22 brave hearts completed the 128-km ride (some coming from as far as Ballarat and Bendigo) and still managed to have some classic fun eating hot pies at the Warby cricket ground.
The club’s “blue smoke” ride celebrates the passion members have for their older classic geared two-stroke motor scooters. The slow-paced ride takes place on a carefully planned route that keeps us away from busy traffic allowing owners to revel in the joy of riding an historic vehicle. The older your scooter, the better. Scooters from the 1940s - 50s are particularly welcome as are other marques including Lambretta, Heinkel, Maicoletta, Puch and Rabbit. The entire PX Vespa range is eligible too.
Where
Once again we are venturing into the rural fringes outside Melbourne in the hills around St Andrews just east of the city. Because the quiet fabulous winding roads in the area are so enjoyable to ride, this year we have extended the route for more classic riding pleasure. Our destination is Hurstbridge - the long way round.
The Route
Much of our 105-km route will be on sealed semi-rural roads with little traffic. The scenery is very pretty and you’ll enjoy meandering along at a leisurely ‘classic’ pace. There are a few exhilerating challenges however. The route from Heidelberg to Hurstbridge is about 72-kms and will take us about 2 hours 20 mins. Much of it is along one of Melbourne’s famed “Green Wedges” - the Nillumbik Shire Green Wedge. After lunch you can either make your own way home from Hurstbridge or join us for an organised short 30-km scenic return route to Ivanhoe East where we’ll enjoy a farewell coffee.
Ride Support
The event is covered by the VCM's Public Liability Insurance. The ride will use designated corner markers who will point you in the right direction at each turn so you can relax and enjoy the unfolding scenery. We hope to organise a van capable of carrying two scooters in case of breakdowns. It will sweep the route at the rear of the ride.
Lunch and other refreshments will be provided courtesy of the Vespa Club of Melbourne and served in Fergusons Paddock, Hurstbridge. Prizes may be presented after lunch.
Departure Point and Time
We will gather and depart from the car park at Heidelberg Cricket Ground <see map here>.
If coming from the city, go along Burgundy Street through the Heidelberg shopping strip and turn left just after Rosanna Road down into the parklands. If coming from the east, use Jika Street. The car park is sign posted just across a small creek at the Burgundy Street and Beverley Road intersection. This location puts us very close to those quiet back roads without any annoying traffic lights. Have breakfast before you arrive. We aim to provide tea, coffee and biscuits before we head off so turn up around 8:30 am for a relaxed start to our grand day out. Departure is at 9:30 am sharp.
IMPORTANT
There will be no fuel stops on the 105-km return ride so please arrive with a full tank. While a stock scooter should be able to make this distance on a tank, owners of scooters with performance kits may need to carry extra fuel as there is no fuel available at Hurstbridge.
Due to the logistics of a big ride and for catering purposes, places are capped so we ask you to register to reserve a spot. It's free! Participants will receive a sticker as a memento of the ride.
Note, this event is being held on SATURDAY not SUNDAY as the Club’s calendar is chock-a-block with events
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